Too Late
by Jayne Foyer
Summary: Naruto couldn't die there. Sasuke felt hot tears run down his face, knowing that this was the end...and neither one of them were going to walk away this time.


"Idiot, give up! Go home! Forget about me!"

The boy continued to scream at his blond-haired friend, emphasizing each syllable with a punch.

"See! You're dying! Do you want to die?"

The blond one stabled himself on a rock and, shaking violently, threw up onto the ground.

"What did I say! You will die! I don't want to kill you, Naruto!"

He grabbed the boy by the shoulders and looked him in the eye.

"I don't…" he whispered. "You were my friend. I don't want to, but if you don't go home, I will."

Naruto stared blankly into the eyes of his so-called friend, and shook his head. "No," he said heavily. "It's too late now. If you won't come back, and I can't drag you, I'll just have to die…I'll see you up there," he continued, eyes closing.

Sasuke's heart began to pump.

"No – no, you're not dying! I lied, I was only lying, and you're _not_ going to die here! Open your eyes! No!" he screamed as his friend fell down. He stared at his peaceful face. He was almost smiling. "You're not dead, Naruto," he whispered. "You wouldn't die without taking me with you. You have to kill me first. I have to die first. It was always going to turn out that way. You can't be dead. No."

Sasuke stared at the lifeless body, waiting for his friend to open his eyes and grin that stupid grin, punch him on the shoulder and tell him he should have seen his face, but he didn't.

A minute went by. And then another. Sasuke continued to wait.

And then it hit him.

He had killed Naruto.

In the fierce fight before, he had hit him one too many times. Before Naruto could do what he was destined to do, Sasuke Uchiha killed him.

As fast as he could, he whipped around and vomited. He retched his guts out until he saw blood. He stared at it, frowning, then got an idea.

Sasuke smiled softly, turning back to his friend. Naruto would not be the only one to die here.

When Sakura, Shikamaru, Hinata, Rock Lee and Kiba reached the site, it didn't look like anything at first. Just an open clearing. Akamaru smelled Naruto and Sasuke, though. He also smelled blood. The team silently checked over the area.

Then they heard the roar.

Something huge and red burst up into the sky from the edge of the clearing. They hurried that way, alarmed.

Hinata silently noted that the huge red thing looked slightly like an animal, a hound or fox maybe, except there were too many tails.

Strange.

To Sakura, they looked as though they were sleeping. Almost as if they hand just come back from a mission and decided to rest for a moment.

Except neither one of them were breathing.

She held her hands over Naruto's heart first, trying to bring him back in vain. She felt her chakra leaking into him, willing him to get up, to come back.

He didn't.

She didn't bother with tears. Tears were inefficient. And now, for this, she had to be more than efficient.

Hinata didn't bother to tell her that he was gone. His heart had stopped beating long ago. Sakura knew that. But knowing something is different from accepting it.

Shikamaru didn't bother reporting back from the radio at his waist. The one moment of silence, the one moment of peace after a battle was sacred. He closed his eyes and bowed his head solemnly.

Sakura moved swiftly to Sasuke, who had a kunai sticking out of his gut.

Lee didn't bother to console Sakura. She was working. He knew she would keep at it for hours, trying to get either one of them to say something.

Kiba didn't bother moving the bodies. He knew death happened in battle but this…this was too much. Naruto was his friend. And now…

Hours passed. Sakura was panting when she stood up.

"They're dead," she said stonily. She walked away. There was no use for her now. She would not be able to touch the bodies. It hurt too much.

Hinata walked away as well. Naruto, whom she had had a silly little girl crush on, was not coming back. She would not be able to touch them either.

The boys didn't walk away. They had to be strong. Ignoring the tears flowing down their cheeks, they surrounded the bodies.

"Look at this," muttered Lee. The three of them squinted at a small inscription carved into the wall. Sasuke's limp hand was covering half the message. Shikamaru gently pulled his arm, shivering as he did so, and they leaned in on two words.

Two words that explained the fight, and the failed mission.

…

…

_Too late._


End file.
